Georgians in Israel about the recent conflict between Israeli forces and Hamas

15 November, 2018

On the 11st of November, Israel and Gaza clashes have begun.
The conflict was triggered by an Israeli clandestine operation carried out in the Khan Yunis area of the southern Gaza Strip. The members of the operation were stopped by local commander Nour Baraka who asked for identification and in response, they shot and killed him with a silenced gun.

During the clash, seven Palestinians and one Israeli soldier were killed and six Palestinians and one Israeli were wounded. It was

later followed the subsequent exchange of fires on their territories. Attacks in Hama by Israel

Georgians who live in Israel talk about what it is like to be living in the conflict zone. A 26-year-old Mate lives in Ashdod, Israel. The city is a very important place for Hamas but it is reliably defended by Israel. Mate works on a building site. When Palestinians got involved in the conflict, he was about to leave the site. But the employer told him that it is a common thing on the spot.

Ella Shaffran has been living in Beersheba, Israel for 23 years now. His husband is local and she has taken his surname. Ella says that the situation is very tense on the border of Palestine. But the locals are not frightened - they have got used to being in the ongoing conflict. There are no threats to Israel as it has employed every possible security systems.

Georgians wrote messages to Ella to come back to Georgia. She says that everyone in the country is well informed about Hamas, threats that Israel might face and instructions how to behave in emergency situations. Several days ago, one of the buses in their city was bombed. Ella says that the locals had done everything such as first aid and the bus evacuation before the ambulance came. Everyone in the country takes certain courses to be well prepared for such occasions.Bombed house in Ashkelon, Israel

According to her, there are certain shelters in the country to hide in during bombing. If the country is about to face a clash, an alarm warns the locals to go to the shelters. The noise of bombs do not scare the people, they know the country takes all the necessary measures to defend the civilians. Besides, people do not get into a panic as the government ensures the locals to make up for every damaged property. Since the high school students are aware of civil defense, only the lower school schedule has changed just to watch children more carefully.